Posts By Brian Knotts

How a Texas Police Department Found More Time for Policing Through RFID

Police officers in a Dallas suburb are spending more time policing and less time accounting for their gear these days, thanks to adoption of an asset management solution that uses RFID tags to track everything they need, down to the uniforms on their backs. According to a recent post on the RFID Journal blog, RichardsonRead… Read more »

European Commission Backs Mandatory Invoice Management Automation

Discussions about invoice management and e-procurement system upgrades are circulating across-the-pond conference rooms this week as the European Commission closes out its consultation on e-invoicing in public procurement. With the European Parliament mandating e-invoicing by 2016 and the European Digital Agenda’s dictate that electronic and paper invoices will be treated equally as of January 2013,Read… Read more »

One Police Department Still Practices Asset Management With Index Cards

In the business world, poor efficiency equals lost profits and less chance at survival. As dire as that sounds, inefficiency among first responders can have even more serious consequences, especially with state and local police departments. Yet many local government agencies all over the country still grapple with the issue of asset management and inventoryRead… Read more »

Fixed Asset Management Takes Center Stage For Fire Departments

Take a spin through the headlines and it’s easy to see fire departments struggling with fixed asset management. In a rural Mississippi town recently, thieves made off with much of the equipment that allowed a volunteer fire department to do its critical job. They stole the “jaws of life,” saws, fans, tools and other equipment.Read… Read more »

Inefficient Warehouse Management Wastes 3,000 Hours Each Year

That “unproductive” feeling in your warehouse likely isn’t due to your employees’ extra coffee breaks. A recent survey of distribution centers in the United Kingdom revealed that DCs waste an average of 3,000 hours per year on inefficient workflow and processes. Responses from 250 supply chain, warehouse and distribution managers were compiled to show thatRead… Read more »

Potential Port Strike Forces Retailers to Prepare for Supply Chain Management Challenges

Chinese New Year is signaling an increase in transpacific freight, but retailers are bracing for potential supply chain disruptions over threats of a worker strike at gulf and east coast ports. Though talks made progress in December, when an earlier strike was avoided between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s AssociationRead… Read more »

Technology Review: Then and Now

The start of a new year usually signifies a time for reflection on where we’ve been and where we’re headed, and nowhere is that disparity more glaringly apparent than in the technology sector. A decade ago, a business traveler had to collect receipts, pull up Excel and spend an afternoon keying up an expense reportRead… Read more »

Annual Study on Higher Ed IT Suggests Slow Migration to Cloud ERP

IT budgets on college campuses are like anywhere else: Tight and getting tighter. Still, more schools reported in an annual study that they’re continuing to invest in technology, with 25 percent planning to upgrade or replace their Enterprise Resource Planning systems for asset management, expense management, invoice management and other functions in the next twoRead… Read more »

e-Procurement: Wal-Mart’s Domestic Procurement Plan Bodes Well for American Manufacturing

It’s impossible to find a bigger retail giant than Wal-Mart. Without question, the chain is a mainstay across the United States, with a supercenter on almost every street corner. Americans love a good deal and, more often than not, they turn to their local Wal-Mart store for just that – to the tune of $444Read… Read more »

Study: Procurement Non-compliance Continues to Lag

Noted business analyst Andrew Bartolini recently released his annual report on the effectiveness of procurement organizations. The results, as they have pretty much every year, showed continued cause for concern. They also offer another compelling case for automated e-procurement solutions. The bottom line: Bartolini’s survey of nearly 270 procurement leaders found just 62 percent ofRead… Read more »